Blue Jays Rival Yankees Slugger Aaron Judge Dealing with Elbow Issue

The Toronto Blue Jays have firm control of the AL East Division while the New York Yankees are dealing with what could be a critical injury.

Jul 23, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) celebrates with team mates in the dugout after hitting a two run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays entered the third game of their four-game series with the Detroit Tigers 5.5 games up in the American League East.

The Blue Jays are rolling. They’ve won their last three games. They are 62-42 overall, 37-17 at home and .500 on the road. Toronto is even 38-29 against teams that are .500 or better this season.

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Along the way, the Blue Jays have dominated the Yankees. In their last two meetings — both at Rogers Centre in Toronto — the Yankees have lost all seven meetings.

New York is still in second place in the division and still inside the line for one of the three AL Wild Card berths. But the Yankees have a potential new problem now — Aaron Judge.

Judge was not in the lineup for Saturday’s game. Meredith Marakovits of YES Network was among those to report that the reigning American League MVP is dealing with an elbow issue and was undergoing an MRI on Saturday. Boone told reporters that this right fielder was struggling to throw on Friday.

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Losing Judge for one day is enough to give the Yankees pause. But the potential to lose him for at minimum a 10-day injured list stint could send a team that has been struggling over the edge.

Judge is having a phenomenal year. He is slashing .342/.449/.711 with a 1.160 OPS. He also 37 home runs and 85 RBI. He leads the AL in batting average and RBI is second to Seattle’s Cal Raleigh in home runs. In other words, Judge is having a triple crown-worthy season.

This couldn’t come at a worse time for the Yankees. As the Blue Jays have surged, the Yankees have steadily reeled, as pointed out by the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Max Goodman.

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Per Goodman, the Yankees were 14 games over .500 and had a seven-game lead in the AL East on May 29. Since then, the Yankees are 21-27.

New York pulled off a deal to address their situation at third base by trading two pitching prospects to the Colorado Rockies for Ryan McMahon. But New York still needs bullpen help and — if Judge misses a significant amount of time — they could make a move for another outfielder.

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As for the Blue Jays, they just continue to win. Outfielder Daulton Varsho is closing in on a return and has slammed three home runs on his rehab assignment.

The daylight continues to grow between the Blue Jays and the Yankees. The potential for Judge’s injury may only exacerbate it.  

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